Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires 221,692 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 69.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 538,763 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 221,692 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Welltower were worth $67,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Welltower by 7.4% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,094 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Welltower by 18.0% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 142,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $18,294,000 after purchasing an additional 21,757 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Welltower by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 44,609 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,711,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC increased its position in shares of Welltower by 38.8% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 8,529 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 2,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in Welltower by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 8,450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Welltower Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:WELL opened at $148.81 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.22, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Welltower Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.87 and a 12-month high of $158.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.35.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 3.15%. Equities research analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower’s payout ratio is presently 171.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America raised their price target on Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Welltower from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Welltower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.46.

About Welltower

Welltower Inc (NYSE:WELL), a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) and S&P 500 company headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, is driving the transformation of health care infrastructure. Welltower invests with leading seniors housing operators, post-acute providers and health systems to fund the real estate infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people’s wellness and overall health care experience.